


Sky of Crystals

by lupiinikeiju



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, I'm Bad At Tagging, Oneshot, Undertale Genocide Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24733099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lupiinikeiju/pseuds/lupiinikeiju
Summary: In the crowd of monsters who are evacuating from Snowdin and Waterfall, one girl is going to the wrong way. She has to find someone before it's too late.
Relationships: Fuku Fire/Skateboard Girl (Undertale)
Kudos: 7





	Sky of Crystals

Everything around me is in chaos. I stumble onwards in the endless stream of monsters, the only one going to the wrong direction. Everything around me is too loud, too bright, too much. I can hear fast, panicked talking - someone is yelling at someone else - someone is crying - I cover my ears but I can't escape the cacophony of noise. I’m too exhausted to keep on running, I need to stop, I need to breathe, but I can't. I have to keep going. So I push through the crowd, elbowing my way around others, as fast as I can.

"This way! Keep going! W-w-we have no time to spare!"

I can hear a familiar voice through the noise. It's Alphys. I let out a shaky sigh of relief. Finally! I thought I could never find her in this chaotic crowd of panic.. I'm getting weird looks from monsters I constantly bump into. I can't blame them. I'm the only one not following the crowd. They must think I'm out of my mind. Why would anyone want to go towards Waterfall in this situation? That's where the danger is coming from. That’s where everyone is trying to get away from. All these people, some all the way from Snowdin, judging by their warm clothes. Way too warm to wear here in Hotland, where lakes and rivers of lava keep the temperature high.

Someone steps on my foot and I stumble, almost falling over. This is not good. I can't fight against the stream. It's driving me away from Alphys. I wave my hand at her, desperately trying to stay on my feet. If the road was empty and if I had my trusty skateboard with me I would reach her in just minutes, but right now it looks like I’ll never make it to her.

"Alphys! Alphys, wait! I need to talk to -"

I feel something hitting my back and lose my balance. Suddenly all I see are feet, walking and running and stumbling around me. I try to push myself up but someone steps on my hand and I fall back down. Two of my fingers throb with pain. "Hey - someone help me...! I can't get up..." No one hears me, everyone is too busy running away from whatever is after us. None of us really know what the threat is, but it's something we've never seen before. And it's getting closer and closer to us. We have a head start, Alphys told us, because Undyne is holding them back. But no one knows how long she can keep doing it.We didn’t believe it at first. How could something so dangerous have gotten down here? But then people from Snowdin got here, the ones who had survived, and they told us what had happened to their little town. And after that no one had any doubts about how dangerous this whole situation was.

I wrap myself into a tight little ball and try to protect my head. It feels like everyone around me is kicking and pushing me. Right when I'm about to close my eyes and just hope that no one falls on me and crushes me to death, I feel someone grabbing my upper arm and roughly yanking me to my feet. "Get up! You can't lie down here, you'll get trampled to death!"

I don't stay and thank my savior. The second I'm back up I turn back to where I think I saw Alphys. For a moment I can't locate her and I start to panic, but then... There! She is closer now. I see her glasses, reflecting the red glow that's always present in Hotland, but also something blue. She's talking to someone I don't recognize. I push monsters out of my way, struggling to get closer to them. Luckily it's easier now, they are not in the crowdiest part of the road.

"...through the c-cameras. But I couldn't watch it. I've... n-never seen anyone so easily block her a-attacks... It looked like... l-like..."

"hey. it's okay." The other monster is clearly trying to comfort Alphys, who is in the verge of tears. "it's undyne we're talking about. she's not going to lose to some kid."

"I hope you're right. Because if... if they g-get past her... I warned Muffet, but, um, you k-know how stubborn she is. None of the spiders are c-coming. They’re staying in the Core. I don't understand! Why would they want to stay? It's m-madness!"

"maybe they are just too proud to hide. or maybe they really think they have a chance against this... whatever this anomaly is. y'know, with their fancy webs and stuff. even I sometimes get tangled up in them.”

Alphys laughs nervously, but I can see how worried she is. She has some kind of a device in her hand, with a tiny display she cannot seem to tear her eyes off from. She only notices me when I put my hand on hers, making her flinch from surprise. She stuffs the device into her pocket and grabs my shoulders, almost aggressively.

“How are you still here? Y-you should be long gone! We’re running out of t-time! Hurry up and go with the others!”

“No!” I struggle free from Alphys’ grasp and take a step back. “This isn’t about me. My friend got left behind and I can’t find her. I’m really worried about her, I don’t know what happened… We were at Waterfall when we were told to evacuate, we were going to visit her dad in Snowdin, but then we saw everyone from the town coming our way and they told us what had happened and of course my friend freaked out and said she needs to find her dad and I just - I lost her to the crowd and now I can’t find her and I’m worried that she never made it to Hotland…”

I pause my rambling to take a breath. Alphys looks at the other monster, who looks back at her. I know what a look like that means. It’s the look you give to someone when you both know that one of you has to tell the bad news.

“listen”, the monster I don’t know says. “you cannot go back to waterfall. no way. undyne is holding back the threat there. if you go there you’ll get caught in their battle. do you hear me, kid? you have to go with the others. i can’t help you.”

Alphys nods, taking the device from her pocket again. “He-he’s right. I’m so sorry. We, um - we can’t help you. We have to -”

Suddenly Alphys freezes and turns pale. Her hands, grasping on the device, shake so hard that she looks like she could drop it at any moment. She stares at the display, opening and closing her mouth, but unable to get out a single word.

The other monster suddenly looks deadly serious. He steps closer to Alphys and, without saying a word, grabs the device from her.

“H-hey! Give it back! Please, I want to - I need to see if she’s alri-”

“no. no you don’t. trust me, buddy. you don’t want to see this.”

Alphys’ hand flinches, as if she was about to try and grab the device back, but instead she just turns away from both of us. She takes a few shaky steps and wraps her arms around her. Like she’s trying to keep herself from falling apart. “I - I think I need some, um… time alone… I’m s-s-sorry.” She slowly walks away without showing her face to us. I start to say something - I don’t even know what - but the monster I don’t know gives me a look that shuts my mouth. I don’t try to argue, I just nod to him. Right now Alphys probably doesn’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t know what she saw on that monitor, but it clearly crushed her heart.

“listen to me, kid. do you want to know what just happened? i can tell you, but you have to promise to not tell anyone else. the last thing we need right now is mass panic. i wouldn’t even tell you, but maybe it will make you think twice about going back.”

I nod again. I can feel my hands shaking. Mass panic? What could it be? I want to know, but at the same time I don’t. The monster puts his hand around my shoulder and guides me to a bit further away from everyone else. Then he turns around, facing me.

“the human just killed undyne. they will be here at any moment. we don’t have much time. maybe not even an hour. now, if you go with the others and get to alphys’ lab as soon as possible, you’re gonna be fine. but we have to hurry. if you don’t get in there, they will get you. and they will not show you mercy.”

I take a few steps back. Undyne? But… that shouldn’t be possible. Undyne? The head of the Royal Guard? Killed by… What even is this thing? Sans said “human”, as did some of the Snowdin people, but Alphys has beaten humans before. We have seen it a few times. It’s very, very rare to see humans down here. They never come to the Underground, and when they do… they don’t last a day until either Undyne or someone else captures or kills them. I personally never understood it. Why is the king so keen on getting them all dead? We all know that he used to raise a human child as his own, but now he just makes sure they are marked for death the second they step outside the Ruins. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never seen a human myself. I live in Hotland. None of them have ever made it this far.

“No way. That can’t be… How is that even… What?” I don’t know what to say. If the human really got past Undyne, doesn’t that mean we’re all doomed? What place could possibly be safe enough from something like that?

“don’t worry.” It’s as if this guy read my mind. “no matter how good that thing is at killing, they can’t get inside… the area that alphys has opened for us. we’re gonna be fine. we’re safe in there.”

I look at the direction he is pointing. There, not that far away, over red stone and glowing magma, I can see the large white building that everyone is slowly but steadily entering as quickly as they can get through the tiny door.

I look the other way. The narrow road stretches endlessly over the fiery pit that opens at both sides of it. Monsters are hustling dangerously close to the edge in their attempts to get to the destination quicker. If I try to run through that huge mass of panicking monsters… it’s not going to end well. I will never make it to the Waterfall in time.

I turn back to the monster and pray that he can see the desperation in my eyes. “Please. You have to help me. She - she is everything I have. I know it’s dangerous, but I don’t care about that. Whatever happens to me will be my own fault. I take full responsibility of everything. I can’t lose her. If she is dead, then I want to die too.”

He looks back at me, long and hard. Contemplating my words, weighing out the options. Finally he gives me a quick nod. “okay, kid. but don’t say i didn’t warn ya.” He takes my hand and starts walking towards the laboratory. “i can get you to waterfall. i know a shortcut.”

I follow him, not questioning this “shortcut”. It feels absurd, we’re going to the wrong direction. But I keep walking, his hand in mine, and suddenly I notice that the red glow of magma has changed to the softer blue light that the crystals at Waterfall emit. I take a deep breath, enjoying the cooler air and the absence of all that noise and chaos. Unlike my friend, I have always liked water. Sometimes I take a day to have a trip to Waterfall just so I could wade in the cool lakes and rivers and enjoy the peace and quiet. There’s a lot less people living in Waterfall than Hotland, and it’s mostly just a route to Snowdin. I don't really understand why so few want to live here. It's a beautiful place, if not a bit dark. The crystals that can be seen far up on the ceiling cast down beautiful, soft light. Whenever I'm around here with her, mostly when we're going to visit her dad like we were supposed to do today, we stop here to admire them. I have never seen a star but I doubt they're as beautiful as the crystals are. I can't help but think about all the things that have happened here, under them. All the things these crystals have seen. They could tell me where she is right now, if she's happy. But I know I won't get an answer even if I tried to ask. As beautiful as these lights are, they're still nothing but lifeless stone far above me.

“okay, kid. you’re on your own now. i’m gonna head back and… i’m not sure what i want to do. i might just go to the capital and protect the king and the barrier. hopefully the human will just pass through the lab and not start sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Wait.” I’m still confused about the way we just got here from a wrong direction and way more quickly than we should have, but I still have room in my mind for being worried about things, as usual. “You’re not going to the lab? But… if that human goes through it, don’t they get straight to the capital? That means it’s not safe for you to go there.”

There’s a short moment of silence before the monster answers. And when he does, his voice is cold as ice.

“i don’t give a damn about my own safety. i can’t afford a luxury like that anymore. yeah, they killed undyne, and i’d be ready to rip their guts out even just for that. but do you know what they did before that? they killed my brother. they made it personal. and that killer better hope that someone puts an end to them before i do. because if i get my hands on them, i’m gonna make them wish they were never born.”

I don’t know what to say. What can you even answer to something like that? This monster is talking like someone who has nothing to lose. I look at his black, empty eye sockets and all I can see is pure, overwhelming rage.

“but i hope you’ll keep yourself safe, kid. if you find your friend, don’t try to get back to hotland. you’ll just run into them and then you are both done for. stay here in waterfall, find a place to hide, and hide well. don’t come out until you’re hundred percent sure they are gone.”

I take a deep breath and nod. I turn my head, looking at the pathway going towards Snowdin. We are actually really close to it, I can even see some snow on the ground a bit further away.

“Hey, thank you so much for helping me. I won’t forget this.”

No answer. I turn around, but he is gone. Without sound, without a goodbye, just like that.

So, which way should I go now? Towards Snowdin or towards Hotland? If my friend didn't find her dad she is probably in Snowdin. But if she’s currently going towards Hotland… she is getting closer to the killer. I can’t decide. And every passing second is another moment when she could be fighting the human.

Suddenly something interrupts my pondering. A faint sound of… footsteps, running footsteps and heavy breathing. It takes me a few moments to realise that it’s coming from the nearby Echo Flower. I step closer to it. The sounds get louder, and then quieter again. The last thing this Echo Flower has heard is someone running past it.

I walk to the next flower. The running sounds continue. They move from one flower to the next, as they replicate the scene they witnessed. Something about these sounds is really worrying. It’s not the sound of a big, rushing crowd of Snowdin residents. It’s just a single person. Like someone who was left behind. I walk quicker, then start running. The sounds in the flowers are more clear now. I can discern talking. I can’t make out any words, but the talking is quick and panicked. It almost sounds like the speaker is crying. My feet feel heavier and heavier. I want this monster to just be someone random, someone I don’t know or will ever know. But I recognize the voice, even if I don’t want to. I can hear the words now. It’s crying, pleading… begging for mercy. And then it just cuts off completely.

There’s white dust on the ground.

I can hear different footsteps now. And they are not coming from the flower.

“Interesting. Seems like my instincts were right. I thought I got everyone from this area already.”  
The figure standing in front of me is shorter than me. I have no idea what humans look like, but if I had to guess I’d say it’s a child. There’s a weird, unhinged smile on its face.

“...but nobody came.” It chuckles quietly, the smile on its face getting wider and showing more teeth. Its left hand is gripping a plastic toy knife, which still manages to look very sharp and dangerous. It has something white on the blade…

I don’t have anything to defend myself with. No weapons, nothing to use as a shield, no strength to run away. Still, something inside me tells me to fight. I know I have no chance against this thing, but I have to try. I know a bit fire magic, enough to light matches and stuff.

I let the small flame grow bigger in my palm. My eyes burn with tears. I understand the skeleton now. I don’t want to hide or run away. I want to hurt this thing. I want to make them feel what they put me and everyone else through. I throw the tiny fireball at the human and my hands only shake a little.

The human dodges my attack with ease. Then, before I have time to prepare another one, they launch towards me, the knife in hand and a sickening grin on their face.

[4762 DAMAGE]

* * *

The soothing wind of the Waterfall carries white dust up towards the ceiling, where glowing crystals send their star-like light down to the Waterfall. Far away, in the New Home, someone else watches these same crystals, ready to judge.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this a while back but didn't post it anywhere besides Tumblr. I'm pretty happy with it. Yes, the girls in the story are Fuku Fire and Skateboard Girl, but it's not meant to be super obvious. I definitely want to do something more with these two though. Maybe one day.
> 
> As always, I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes I might have made. English is not my first language and I didn't get anyone to proofread this one for me.


End file.
